


Of City lights and Wine (Redone)

by TheRaptorOFire



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-01
Updated: 2016-06-17
Packaged: 2018-07-11 11:56:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7049644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRaptorOFire/pseuds/TheRaptorOFire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A redone/ Remastered version of my original Of City lights and Wine with a more fleshed out story!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Kirkwall

_Two years ago._

 

Amelia stood proudly, staring up at the plaque on the wall.  Nearly 7 years in the making but she did it.  She toughed it out and now she could add that little “Dr.” in front of her name.  Oh she could finally rest, take a break, damn, just do _anything_ now.  

The graduation ceremony took place a few days ago, but it was only now that she had received the PhD. Now came the hard part; looking for a job; which proved difficult for a new Botanist.

She was busying doing just that on her computer when Hawke busted through the little studio apartment door.  Pyre barked and growled before relaxing while Amelia continued to scream in shock, covering her heart out of fear it would explode, then squinting her eyes at her friend and gritting her teeth.

“What the fuck Victoria?!”  She shouted, “You can’t just do that to someone!”  Pyre rubbed his head against Amelia’s bare leg.

Hawke rolled on her feet with her hands behind her back. “But I did.”  She smiled.

Amelia turned in her seat, arms crossed over her chest.  “What did you want, Hawke?”

Suddenly she was grabbed and pulled out of her seat, shrieking as Hawke dragged her to her bedroom. “Come on, really!?  You get to the top of the food chain and you celebrate it by going on the Internet?”

Amelia stumbled into her room, rubbing the red spot on her arm as she glared at her friend.  Hawke was always not accounting for her damn strength. “Ugh Hawke I don’t have time to –,” she huffed, folding her arms once more on her chest.  

Hawke begged.  “ _Please_ Amelia?  It’s just the bar, you don’t even have to put pants on…” she winked.

Amelia rolled her eyes. She looked between Hawke and her laptop back on the small rounded table.  Hawke’s puppy eyes were almost as bad as her old friend Alistair’s….  Her shoulders sunk in defeat.  “Alright.”  She finally agreed.  

As Hawke bounced out of the room, Amelia rummaged through her small closest.  She didn’t really have a good selection of clothes that valued looking pretty over comfort.  She dug out an old dress, one that surprisingly still fit her.  It was simple dark blue sequin dress that went to the tops of her ankles and had a cut in the front to show some leg.  She fished out a nice pair of 1 inch heels to go along with it.  

Amelia grabbed her keys and a small purse to stash her money and ID in before her Mabari on the head and ran out after Hawke.

****** 

The club was, well, noisy. Amelia didn’t expect it to be anything else.  However this was the only club in Kirkwall that wasn’t secretly a front for one of the many gangs hiding in the city.  Clubs weren’t her “thing”, she wasn’t completely fond of them.  Why get drunk in front of a bunch of people and dance when you know you can’t dance.  That’s why she did all that back home, but she agreed to do this for Hawke.

“So…”

Hawke took Amelia’s hand, “This way, Anders should be waiting for us.”

He was sitting in a booth in the back, more towards that bar, Varric had showed up some point, Hawke being surprised he was there.

They sat and had a few drinks, toasting Amelia’s accomplishment just like Hawke had said.  Varric’s was the most sentimental of the three of them surprisingly, but honestly, Amelia couldn’t tell if he was just trying to speak out a part in his newest book.

Through the course of the night Amelia noticed one particular guy passing a quick glance in her direction, turning his head back whenever she caught him.  He was obviously checking her out.  He was good looking, won’t deny that.  She had a soft spot for blond hair, which he obviously had. He looked broad at the shoulders, but Amelia couldn’t tell, he was sitting up at the bar and she was wedged between Hawke and Varric.

Hawke noticed of course; she notices everything. “You’re getting checked out, girl.” she whispered while nudging Amelia’s side.

“Stop Hawke.” Amelia whispered back.

“Why?” she asked. “It’s been like what? 7? 8 years since you were last with a guy?”

“Yeah and he’s obviously checking you out, Bumble.” Varric intervened.  

Hawke pulled Amelia out of the seat giggling at her friends’ effort to remain in the seat.  “gooooo.”

Amelia sighed, slumped her shoulders and knocked back the rest of her whiskey.  Her heart was stammering in her chest. As she got closer to him, Amelia got more and more nervous.  How the hell was she even supposed to do this? It’s been years she has no idea how to start a conversation or  -

“Hi.” She mumbled sheepishly, cursing at herself already.

The man turned around quickly, eyes wide open, roaming her body once before they shot back up to her eyes. “Hello.”  He croaked out, slamming his fist against his chest before he spoke again in a low pitch than he started, “Hi.”

Amelia pointed at the stool next to him.   The man quickly moved his empty bottles of beer and smiled softly.

“Bad day?”  She asked looking at the bottles.  There had to be at last 6, not counting the one in his hand.

“It’s nothing,” he assured her, “What is a nice lady like you doing here?”  He stared at the beer bottle avoiding her wondering eyes.

Maker, he was just as nervous at this as she was.  She shouldn’t have done this, _fuck_ , he probably wasn’t even looking at her.  She wasn’t the definition of “pretty” and, ugh, she was bad at this. He was probably staring at her two visible tattoos, the one just under her left cheek and the high dragon covering her left arm.  He wasn’t looking at her, no way no….

“Celebrating…”

The bartender gave her a beer and she began to nurse It like it was a bottle of milk.

“That’s nice.”

He had a very rich Ferelden accent, it was almost sweet and calming to the ears.  He also smelled like oakmoss and honey even above the scent of alcohol.  Fuck she was so nervous.  Her body was screaming at her to bail before making a fool of herself.

“well…” She started turning to look at him, “you probably wanted to be alone, I’m sor –

“Wait,” his hand was on her bare leg and, and, was he shaking?  “Please I, I… Ugh.”  he finally sighed.  “I’m sorry I’m not very good at this.”  Amelia waited for him to continue, sitting back down.  “I’ve never talked to a beautiful girl before. “

 _Smooth._ Amelia thought with a smile.  

“Let’s start over then.  I’m Amelia.”

The man lifted his head and smiled.  Setting his drink down her turned to face her. “I’m Cullen.”  

“Cullen.”  She said his name a few times, rolling it around her tongue.  “Sounds Ferelden.”

“It is… I mean, _I am_.  Ah...” Cullen rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.  His head perked up at her sudden burst of laughter.  She didn’t mean too but she couldn’t help it, he truly was a mess, not unlike her she supposed.  

She apologized, but he shook his head. “No, no I quite liked your laugh.”

Cullen inched his hand closer to hers on the counter and with caution, wrapped his fingers around hers when she smiled. His hand was bigger than hers, nearly covering it entirely.  But it was soft, a little rough but, _he_ was soft.  Amelia felt so at ease.  She squeezed his hand and he copied her.  Her whole body lit up like a fire being stoked, and everything felt so right. 

Perhaps today would be good –

Before they could continue there were police sirens going off and smoke seeping in from outside. Hawke rushed over and pulled on Amelia’s arm tight. People in the club began screaming and running out, some muttering, others in a full blown panic.  Cullen rushed out to see what happened.

“Amelia come on we gotta get out of here!”

“What? What happened?”

Hawke rushed her outside and pointed just down the street where the old fashioned Chantry was… well used to be. The ground was hidden behind a storm of dust and smoke.  Ander’s appeared with Varric out of the club.  Worried for Hawke and Amelia who couldn’t be seen at first in the crowd.  Anders started his car and as everyone started to jump in Amelia was looking back.

“Come on we have to get out its dangerous!”

“But…”

“No buts.” Anders interrupted, pulling her into the car as well.

 _Fuck_ … She thought.  She met the most amazing guy and of course today the gangs start a war. Nice very nice.


	2. A new life

_Present day…_

The door opened with a slight squeak as Amelia tiredly shimmied her way through.  She threw her keys onto the nearby counter and her coat, which she meant to throw onto the coat hanger but missed, groaning as it fell to the floor. 

“Long day I guess?”  

The voice from the middle of the room startled Amelia before remembering she had asked Hawke to watch her Mabari for today.

Hawke sat on the couch squished between nearly four hundred pounds of Mabari.  She looked _so Ferelden_ , Amelia thought, sitting there, happy as one can be while being covered in dog slobber.  

“You could say that.” Amelia said as she plopped onto the couch next to Hawkes Mabari, Bruiser. Petting him behind his one stubby ear.  The fur feeling like velvet and the action soothing.

Hawke looked up from the Mabaris, turning the television off with the remote, looking at Amelia excited and expecting an answer.

“So?  How was your date?  Hmmm?”  Hawke pressed.

Amelia shrugged, “eh, it was alright.  Sebastian is nice and all but not for me.”  She admitted

Hawke covered her face with her arms and groaned.   Amelia just rolled her eyes.

Amelia’s friends had been trying to hook her up with men (and woman) for a good while now.  After the explosion two years ago, Amelia hadn’t really wanted a relationship, so busy and focused with work that she partially destroyed her sleep schedule.  They thought having her mingle and date would relax her, but it didn’t work.  They kept fixing her up with people that just weren’t right for it.  Of course she appreciated the thought.

“It’s not all _that_ bad, Hawke.  Just, right now I have a lot to do –“

“Like?” Hawke pressed. To be honest Amelia couldn’t tell if her friend was annoyed with the tone Hawke used.

Amelia looked around and smiled.  She’d been living in this little dinky apartment for over 10 years.  Bought it when she started college.  Wrote her thesis paper on the effects of the Wilds flower. She even got Pyre as a pup and watched him grow here.  To say this place was special was a little bit of an understatement.

But work is hard now in Kirkwall.  The city still riled up from the destruction of the main chantry, and the attempts of invasion by Qunari.  Amelia knew staying here was probably a bad idea, both for her mental health and job life.  

“I have to pack.”  She didn’t _want_ to tell Hawke outright what she had done, but she also was excited about it, so it just started to spill from her lips before she even attempted to stop it.  “I was offered a permanent job down at the Denerim Botanical gardens as head researcher.”

Hawke looked at her, stunned. “And?” She asked hesitantly.

Amelia looked down at the rug, or more rather her feet which suddenly became very interesting.  “I accepted.”    

Hawke turned to look outside.  It was no secret she was upset.  All her friends had moved out of the city, all but Anders and Aveline, who had jobs here. And Amelia was one of her oldest friends, meeting her as kids in Lothering.  

“That’s one hell of a commute.”  Hawke joked.

Amelia chuckled slightly in response.

The two were relatively silent, and Amelia feared the worse.  

“Do you… have a place to stay down there?”  Hawke asked breaking the silence.

Amelia shook her head. “No not really.  I looked around, but all the places close to where I need to be are either sold or so expensive my father would have to sell our old family castle.”

Hawke chuckled. “Never understood why your family never just got a normal mansion.”  Hawked turned to look at Amelia and smiled.  “But to the point.  If you need a place, Caver was thinking of selling his little house in South Reach. If you want I could put in a word for -!”

Amelia reached over and hugged- actually hugged Hawke! “Really!?”

Hawke wiggled out of her friends grasp and got up on her feet. The two Mabari jumping up as well and barking and the excitement going on.  “Yeah.  He was thinking of moving in with Bethany, so that leaves his house open for sale.”

Amelia jumped up and grabbed Hawke again, lifting her up and twirling her which earned her a shriek.

“You’re the best, Hawke!”

 

* * *

 

Amelia had spent a good part of the week packing her things. Quitting her current job at the Diner and getting everything ready.  Pyre of course was nervous, hell _Amelia was nervous_.  Today was the day they both would board the plane down to Amaranthine Harbor, the closest Airport for South Reach.  They’d have to take the plane there, then a 4 hour bus ride before they’d be in South Reach.

Carver had let her buy the place for a steal, handing her the keys right there when she went down to take a look at the place.  

It was a 1 floor house. Had a decent master bedroom, a kitchen/ dining room set up, 2 bathrooms, one in the bedroom and one in the hallway. And most importantly, it had a front and backyard with enough room that Pyre could run around with.  

It was perfect!

With every last box taped up and on the truck, every little toiletry backed in an overnight bag (along with some Mabari treats) she plopped onto the couch exhausted.  

“And that was the easy part.” She mumbled to herself.  

Taking one look around, seeing how empty, how barren the apartment had become it was strange.  The last time it looked this way over 9 years ago, when she first moved in to start University.  

Watching his master reminisce, Pyre jumped up onto the couch begging for attention.  He knew if she didn’t distract herself, Amelia would regret doing this, so he forced his muzzle under her hand.  Amelia chuckled quietly and whispered _Good boy_.  

With a finally look around Amelia got up and turned to look at Pyre who had his head tilted to the side. “Ready boy?”  


	3. Ferelden Spring

Ferelden Spring is weird.  It never truly gets warm unless you’re up in Denerim, or near Soldier’s peak, and if you live pass Lothering you might as well wear a coat everyday.  Today, however, was a warm clear day.  _Unusually_ warm in fact.  They said it was supposed to rain all week except for this one day in the middle of the week, all sunshine and cloudless.  The birds were chirping, no doubt happy as well from the rain.  There were still drops of water that fell from fresh green spring leaves. 

The perfect day, so Cullen took the opportunity to go for a little jog. 

That was not an unusual sight.  Cullen went jogging most mornings before heading off to work or just before bed, the motion and action calmed him, made the headaches less of a hindrance.  He took a deep breath, reviling in a fresh air, the smell of rain still lingering.  Cullen watched several people jog pass, some running with other people and some alone with earbuds. 

"Shit!"

He had tripped unceremoniously into some poor woman in the middle of the sidewalk. 

"Makers breath!  I'm so sorry!"  Cullen exclaimed, breathing heavily from running, and completely red in the face from embarrassment.

The woman chuckled, picking up one box as he picked up the others.  "It’s quite alright," she assured him, placing the box down near the gate.

Cullen gently put the boxes down next to the first.  "I wasn't looking where I was going, I'm so sorry."  As Cullen stood there feeling like such a fool he could see the big moving truck and the piles of boxes littering the edge of the sidewalk, along with the sounds of barks that now just registered in his ears.

_He felt like a bloody fool._

"It’s alright," the woman assured him again.  She turned, brushing off the bits of grass from his shirt, all while letting out the sweetest laugh he's ever heard _.  Can he hear it again_?  And her touch, not meant to be nothing more than friendly lit small fires on his skin.  It was wrong to feel this way.  He barely knew her!

"Makers breath, you have grass all over you.  How is that even possible?"

He wasn't even sure himself.  He stumbled into the grass when he tripped over the woman but he didn't think it was _that_ bad.  Not that it _was_ actually bad, nothing a good amount of time in the washer wouldn't fix.  But is she okay?  Does she have grass stain son her?  OH Maker what if he ended up running this poor woman’s shirt!?

He’s rambling to himself.  Great.

“I -“ _Do_ not _say sorry again you fool!_ – “I’m Cullen.  Cullen Rutherford,” he said as he held out his hand, uncertain if she’d actually shake it.  It was now he was able to get a good look at her; the bright auburn hair tied up in a bun or ponytail – it looked like she had done both –  the freckles that littered her face like stars in the night sky, the scars on her left cheek, lip and nose that added a bit of an asymmetric look to her.

But it was her _eyes_ that took most of his attention.  They were perhaps the brightest yellow he’d ever seen- and was that a bit of red mixed in?  Maker it was like looking into the _sun_.

“Amelia Trevelyan,” she greeted him with a slight bow as she shook his hand.

Amelia… why did the name sound _so damn familiar_?

Before he could ask her, the sound of a Mabari rung out through his ears again.  Much closer than he would have liked actually.

“Maker’s balls… Pyre!” Amelia turned to Cullen apologetically, ushering the hound away from the picketed fence. “I’m sorry about that, he tends to forget people don’t like being barked at in the ear.”

It was his turn to assure her now.  “It’s quite alright,” he chuckled.  “Got quite a pair of lungs on him.”  Cullen went to lean back against the fence now that the Mabari had moved his attention to the house.  

“That’s my boy.”

“May I?”  He asked tentatively, pointing towards the dog.

It had been so long since Cullen had seen a Mabari with this this kind of pattern.  A rich brown with both white and black markings.  Being in the presence of a gorgeous Mabari such as this has him feeling like a little boy back in Honnleath all over again. 

“Sure, he’s friendly,” she smiled.

As she whistled for her dog, the Mabari jumped up and down, wagging his stubby tail.  And when she opened the gate it was like unleashing an army, as all of a sudden Cullen was falling backwards onto the hard sidewalk with a hundred pounds of dog, slobbering all over his face. 

He was laughing, she was laughing, it was pure mayhem.  “No!  Down boy –ack!  Down!”  Cullen continued to laugh.

Amelia laughed, patting her knee.  Pyre licked Cullen in one long lick before trotting back to his owner like he’d just won a battle. “He likes you,” she chuckled, helping Cullen up to his feet.

“And if he didn’t?”

“Trust me, you’d know.”  

He was looking over at Pyre who seemed to be eyeing him… was the Mabari sizing him up?

“Where did you get him?  If I may ask of course.  I’ve never seen one with his coloring before.”

Amelia turned her head and glared at Pyre till the dog moved to inside the house.  Then she casually leaned against the fence, a smile now gracing her face, a genuine smile that creased the corners of her eyes.

“Got him while I lived in Kirkwall.  Up in the marches?”  _Yes Cullen knew Kirkwall all too well_    “I was going through _things_ and one of my friends, Hawke, suggested that the cure to any situation was a Mabari.  So I found him in a shelter as a pup.”

“Shelter?  You don’t see many in shelters.  Let alone a pup.”

“Yup.  Turns out the breeder couldn’t handle him.  Pyre was an aggressive pup.”

Cullen must have given her a look of pure disbelief.  Looking between Amelia and Pyre because she started to chuckle.

“Yes, well, what is it they say?  Each Ferelden finds the right Mabari?  Or vice versa.”  She waved her hand vaguely through the air, never moving her gaze from the Mabari- who was now playing with some sort of squeak toy.  Amelia was looking at everything but him, a timid nature it seemed.  “Well,” she began, “I better finish unloading these.”

He made a wide berth around her, making note of some smaller boxes.  “And I will attempt not to run into you again.”

She laughed, even at the horrendous joke, stacking a few boxes on top of the ones that Cullen had placed down. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Cullen.  Perhaps I’ll see you around?”

“Of course,” he smiled before continuing his afternoon run. 

But when he reached the corner and turned he couldn’t help but take a quick glance back.  It didn’t help that the sun was currently right behind Amelia as she bent down to pick up the boxes.  Cullen watched Pyre run out of the gate, nearly tripping Amelia as she laughed and walked through.  There was something about her.  Something he couldn’t quite get his tongue around.  But that didn’t matter now, he had to get home it was getting late.

Maybe once Amelia was settled, Cullen would invite her over for lunch… just to welcome her of course.


End file.
